Monoamine compounds in cerebrospinal fluid of healthy subjects punctured without preceding strict bed rest: A pilot study

The interpretation of data on compounds in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF) is limited by several confounding factors, e.g, motor activity for whi ch strict bed rest prior to lumbar puncture is recommended for standardisat ion. Now we report data from 14 healthy males employing the standardised pr ocedure except for the requirement of strict bed rest. The levels of seroto nin, noradrenaline, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylglycol in the second CSF fraction (7-12 mi) we re significantly higher than those in the first fraction (0-6 mi), indicati ng the presence of concentration gradients. 5-HIAA was negatively influence d by age and the neuraxis distance in the lying position and positively by atmospheric pressure. Storage time and atmospheric pressure contributed to the variance in dopamine. Both tyrosine, tryptophan and dopamine were linea rly correlated with storage time. We also found a significant curvilinear c orrelation between tapping time and atmospheric pressure. On comparing with previous studies, the results support the notion that the issue of strict bed rest or not prior to lumbar puncture might have to be taken into consid eration when interpreting lumbar monoamine CSF data. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG. Basel.